


Down the Drain

by MadKingV3rn0n



Category: The Real Ghostbusters
Genre: Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Implied Relationships, M/M, Nightmares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:27:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28420911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadKingV3rn0n/pseuds/MadKingV3rn0n
Summary: "The groaning and creaking of the aged plumbing was the first thing to wake Winston up. He opened his eyes, bleary and exhausted, and cursed whoever decided to shower at 3 in the morning to hell." Winston discovers Peter comforting Egon after a nightmare in the shower. Implied Peter/Egon but can be seen as just a close friendship.
Relationships: Egon Spengler/Peter Venkman
Kudos: 14





	Down the Drain

The groaning and creaking of the aged plumbing was the first thing to wake Winston up. He opened his eyes, bleary and exhausted, and cursed whoever decided to shower at 3 in the morning to hell. Showers were always a loud affair in the firehouse, the entire building seeming to protest running water and heating it at the same time, so it had been agreed to keep bathing to strictly waking hours only. It had appeared that someone had broken their rule.

He scanned around the darkness of the room and noted that the only other occupant was Ray, sound asleep and cuddled up to his Dopey Dog plush without a care in the world. A bomb could explode in front of him and all Ray would respond with was a yawn, flipping over on his other side, and immediately falling back to sleep. It wasn't uncommon for Egon not to be in the bunk room during normal sleeping hours, the older man instead preferring to futz about the lab until he fell asleep wherever he ended up sitting down, but it was odd for Peter to be missing. Peter, a man who took his sleep beyond seriously, always slept like the dead until ten in the morning unless otherwise scheduled. He, like Ray, was an extremely deep sleeper so it was odd for his absence and even odder that he would shower in the middle of the night. A wave of anxiety gnawed at Winston's stomach and he stood up out of bed, toeing his slippers on as he went.

Winston could hear muffled speaking as he crept down the hall toward the communal bathroom, only barely audible over the rush of water from the shower. It sounded like Peter but his tone was strange. It was a calming, soothing tone that he sometimes used on busts when a child on the verge of tears was afraid of the ghoul hiding in their attic. As Winston neared the door, the water shut off and two voices could be heard. 

"Feeling any better?" asked Peter, his voice still using that same calming tone. 

"Yes Peter, thank you." 

From his vantage point by the door, Winston could see Egon as he accepted a towel from Peter, his ash blonde hair darkened and hanging limply around his shoulders. He muttered another thank you as he accepted his glasses.

Peter gave him a grin, reverting to his normal, sarcastic tone, "See Doctor Venkman does know a thing or two."

Egon sighed, his shoulders and his shoulders sagged as he stood before the younger man. He looked like absolute hell. "It is frustrating to be subjected to these foolish nightmares. I'm 40, Peter, I'm not a child anymore." 

Winston knew all about nightmares. Horrific happenings during his deployments still haunted his dreams. Even their encounters with Gozer and the Boogieman caused him to startle awake some mornings but he was quickly able to shake those off and get on with his day. He knew the older man had trouble sleeping but always wrote it off as the man having too much constantly going on in his brain. Being a genius left little room in the mind for relaxing and given their workload recently relaxing was the last thing on anyone's mind. 

Peter put a caring hand on Egon's shoulder and pressed a light kiss to his cheek, "Let's get you to bed."

Winston blanched and quickly made his way back to the bunk room. The door opened just as he pulled the covers up to his ears. His heart hammered as he heard drawers open and close followed by a rustling of fabric, blankets, and the creak of bed springs dipping under more than one person's weight. He can barely make out the whispers between the two men, then there was silence, and then light snoring. 

Winston pulled down his blankets and spared a careful glance at the bed across from him. As expected Egon and Peter were huddled closely together, Peter keeping a strong arm around the other man's midsection. He looked to Ray but the other man was still asleep, Dopey Dog now switched out with another one of his plush companions. 

Moving his eyes to the ceiling, Winston felt much like a child seeing his parents kiss for the first time. His mind ran through the interactions he'd witnessed between the two men and couldn't put a finger on anything that would indicate they were closer than long time friends. He always felt like the odd man out when they talked about their collegiate career and even their college experiences as students together but he never expected anything like this. Peter was a flirty guy, giving salacious grins and winks to anyone who would look for longer than two seconds, but Egon, straight-laced emotionally repressed Egon, didn't seem the type to fall for his antics. Based on his constant level of exasperation at the other man, Winston wouldn't have been surprised if there was some deep seated but friendly resentment toward the other man. Or was he just that blind to them?

His last thought before allowing sleep to overtake him again is that he hoped no one else was going to shower tonight.

**Author's Note:**

> Showers are always a good way to break up the anxiety from nightmares and can help you to calm down and forget about them. 
> 
> I haven't written anything in 5+ years and this is the first time I've written for this fandom so hopefully I've got their characteristics and characterizations accurate. Thanks!


End file.
